62nd Festival Opens with Ribbon Cutting
On a bright, sunny Thursday, the ribbon was cut officially opening the 62nd Barnesville Pumpkin Festival by the event’s first queen, lifelong Barnesville resident Becky Carpenter Hunkler.
It was in 1968, the first year the Barnesville Fall Festival moved to the first block of West Main Street, that Carpenter Hunkler was crowned the event’s first queen. The previous four years the event, drawing hundreds not thousands like today, was staged at the Assumption Catholic Church basement a few blocks away.
That year, Hunkler, a Barnesville High School senior, was selected by the Barnesville Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter as queen of the festival. The FFA president at that time, Tom Brill, who would spend decades working in downtown Barnesville at the family’s business, The Walter Thomas men’s clothing store, crowned Carpenter Hunkler starting a tradition that, although changed and improved over the years, continues.
Brill joined Hunkler presenting an engraved plaque to the honoree to mark the occasion.
Reflecting on the differences between the festival 58 years later, Carpenter Hunkler said, “It wasn’t anything like it is now, but it was fun, and we all looked forward to it.”
“As queen I sat on a very small pumpkin compared to the ones we now have with Tom Brill weighing me in!”
“I see all my friends and everybody,” the honoree said as she soaked in the importance of the event and her role in the 2026 Barnesville Pumpkin Festival.
In the run-up to the start of the festival, MC John Rataiczak paid tributed to Tim Rockwell, festival president, who tragically died this past year at the age of 59.
“Rockwell was the true heart and soul of our community celebration. Tim’s passion, unwavering dedication, and infectious smile guided us for many years,” Rataiczak said.
“Though we deeply miss his vibrant spirit, he lives on in every single tradition we celebrate today and this weekend. Let’s honor his legacy by making this year’s festival everything he ever dreamed it would be.”
©Barnesville Area News Company Photo
©Barnesville Area News Company Photo
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